Update: Bullets from shootout narrowly missed woman

Heriberta Maya-Antonio was sitting on her living room sofa Monday night when a bullet entered her home from the window behind her, nearly striking her. Three homes along the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Clark Street in Des Moines were fired into. (Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

One of several bullets fired toward houses on the north side of Des Moines on Monday night went whizzing by Heriberta Maya-Antonio’s head.

“I’ve been frightened,” she said through a interpreter. “I’ve heard shooting in the past but always from a distance. This time it was very close.”

That’s an understatement: When she sat on the couch to show her position when the bullet ripped into her home in the 1200 block of Clark Street about 10 p.m. Monday, she positioned herself right in front of the bullet hole in the glass.

It appeared that should could not have avoided being hit sitting there. Then she stood up and pointed to a mark on a nearby cabinet. A line between the mark and the holes in the windows showed the bullet came into the house at an angle, just missing Maya-Antonio as she sat on the couch reading a book.

She received only minor cuts from the glass as the window shattered behind her.

No arrests have been reported. Police said several shots were fired near Clark and 13th streets about 10 p.m. Officers are collecting evidence and talking to witnesses. Police did not share a motive.

Bullets struck three houses:

>>Francisco Hernandez, 45, of the 1300 block of Clark reported that bullets hit his home but no one was injured.

>>Victor Garcia, 29, also of the 1300 block of Clark Street, told police he was inside his home with his brothers when they heard shots being fired outside. The window air conditioner stopped suddenly.

Officers located four bullet holes at the Garcia residence, including one in the air conditioner.

Witnesses told officers there was a group of perhaps 10 to 15 juveniles in the 1300 block of Clark Street at the time. One witness said that a dark-colored sport utility vehicle pulled up and that a heavyset male got out and started shooting.

One or more juveniles in the group then pulled out guns and started shooting. Shell casings and a shotgun shell were located at the scene.

“We are not aware of anyone being injured,” said Police Sgt. Chris Scott. “The unfortunate part is people in that neighborhood are not only terrorized by these senseless acts, one person had some minor injuries from flying glass. The people who did this — teenagers or young adults — have absolutely no regard for where their bullets go.”

EARLIER STORY:

One person was injured by broken glass but no one was hit by gunfire when shooters opened fire Monday night in a Des Moines neighborhood.

No arrests were reported.

Police said shots were fired near Clark and 13th streets about 10 p.m. Bullets struck three houses.

Officers are collecting evidence and talking to witnesses. A motive was not immediately reported.

Police said Heriberta Maya-Antonio, 40, was sitting in her living room in the 1200 block of Clark when a bullet crashed through a window. The glass cut her arm but police said it was not a serious injury.

Francisco Hernandez, 45, of the 1300 block of Clark reported bullets hit his home but no one was injured.

Victor Garcia, 29, also of the 1300 block of Clark Street, told police he was inside his home with his brothers when they heard shots being fired outside. The window air conditioner stopped suddenly.

Officers located four bullet holes at the Garcia residence, including one in the air conditioner.

Witnesses told officers there was a large group of perhaps as many as 10 to 15 juveniles in the 1300 block of Clark Street. One witness said a dark-colored sport utility vehicle pulled up and a heavy-set male got out and started shooting. Other juveniles in the group then pulled out guns and started shooting. Shell casings and a shotgun shell were located at the scene.